Friday, January 11, 2013

Controversy Between Rockford Town Council and Spokane County Sheriff's Department Results in Ballot Issue


Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich met with Rockford Town Council at multiple meetings in November and December, due to overdue bills.

November 7, 2012, Rockford Clerk, Darlene LaShaw, explained the CJ (Criminal Justice) fund pays for $5,000.00 of the contract; the remaining is paid out of the CE (Current Expense) fund.

November 20th, Knezovich informed the Council that the Sheriff’s Department will only come to Rockford for 911 calls until the 2012 contract was signed.
Council minutes state, "The Sheriff’s Department/County is not accepting the amount that the Town informed them it could pay."

Councilman,Thomas Smith, made a motion to pay for 2012 expenses for the contract along with sending a letter to the County informing them the Town will not be signing the contract for 2013.

On Monday, December 3rd, Representative Joe Schmick talked to Sheriff Knezovich, and Senator Mark Schoesler talked to Todd Mielke regarding the issues with the Sheriff contract. Schoesler and Schmick had met with a few townspeople, also.

Rockford experiences heavy traffic from Washington Hwy. 27 through the center of town en route to and from the Couer d'Alene Casino in Idaho.

The Council determined that a Resolution to place a Law Enforcement Services levy on February’s ballot would be on the agenda at their next meeting.

On December 19, 2012, the Council voted to approve Resolution 12-10R – Rockford’s resolution for law enforcement levy to be placed on the February 12, 2013 ballot. Council also approved Resolution 12-11R – Rockford’s fee and fines resolution.

Rockford settled their overdue 2012 bill, handing Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich a warrant for $14,000.

Subsequently, the Town Council placed a Law Enforcement levy on the February ballot concerning funding the Spokane Sheriff's Law Enforcement in 2014.

The costs of court and attorney fees that the town is billed for criminal offenses are not included in this amount.

The levied funds would provide payment for the majority of the cost of the Sheriff Department's services contract. Washington's sales taxes also provide funding for the Sheriff's Department.

This proposition would authorize the Town to levy in 2013 an excess property tax levy on land owners within the Town.

The language on the ballot will read:


"The Rockford Town council enacted Resolution 12-R concerning a proposition to finance the 2014 Law Enforcement Protection Services. This proposition would authorize the Town to levy in 2013 an excess property tax levy on all taxable property within the Town of Rockford in an approximate rate of $1.33 per $1,000 of assessed value, and raise $33,000 to be collected in 2014 and used to provide adequate law enforcement service in 2014. Should this proposition be approved?"